Skiing

The Caymans (and Browns) First Olympic Skier

Feb 16, 2010

The following story originally appeared in the Winter
2009-10 issue of the Brown Bear Magazine.

The Cayman Islands are known for their white beaches, all-inclusive
resorts, and year-round warm sunny weather. The islands have sent a
delegation to every Summer Olympic Games since 1984, but given its
location, climate, and population, it isn’t too surprising
that there has never been an Caymanian who has competed in the
Winter Games.

Dow Travers ’11 is about to change that.

Travers, who didn’t start ski racing until he went to the
British Ski Academy for a semester six years ago, will represent
his native country in the Giant Slalom at the 2010 Winter Olympics
in Vancouver.

“It’s my first Olympics and I definitely hope
it’s not my last,” said Travers, who took a year off
from his studies at Brown to train at the Aspen Ski Club in
Colorado last year. “I’m definitely on a steep learning
curve. I’m going to try to do the best I can, given this is
my first chance and I’m obviously at a huge handicap compared
to everyone else.”

Travers, who skied on family vacations growing up, isn’t
referring just to his relative inexperience in the sport. In early
November, while most Olympic skiers were already on the slopes in
preparation for Vancouver, Travers was back at Brown, eagerly
anticipating the arrival of the region’s first snowfall.

He plays rugby in the fall to try to stay fit, and he traveled to
Colorado in late November and early December to compete in a Nor-Am
Cup race in Aspen. Travers will return to Aspen when fall exams are
complete to continue training, but he plans to come back to the
Northeast to participate in Brown’s pre-season training camp
in early January. He will compete for Brown in the team’s
first few carnivals before leaving for Vancouver in early February.
The giant slalom will run from Feb. 21-25, and he will return soon
after to catch up on his coursework at Brown.

While Travers didn’t face a whole lot of competition from
within the Cayman Islands for his spot on the nation’s
Olympic team, he did have to meet a qualifying standard. FIS, the
international ski racing regulatory body, mandates that skiers must
meet a qualifying benchmark twice in a 13-month period to qualify
for the Games. Travers posted two qualifying results in a span of
nine days in FIS races in Breckenridge, Colo., and Mammouth
Mountain, Calif., in April, 2009.

“Just being around world class skiers and getting a chance
to see what they do is incredible,” said Head Coach Mike
LeBlanc. “He’s going to come back (after the Olympics)
with a totally different perspective.”

While he will have a different perspective, Travers insists he
will be just as committed to helping the Brown men’s ski team
do its best.

“Coming back from the Olympics and competing for Brown might
be a little surreal,” said Travers. “But no more
surreal than seeing someone from the Cayman Islands in the Winter
Olympics.”